Heavy duty trailer and tractor lifting unit



Sept. 21, 1948. R. L.. MEADOWS 2,449,947

HEAVY DUTY TRAILER AND TRACTOR LIFTTNG UNIT Filed Jan. 18, 1946 3Sheets-Sheet .1 l

Jnveni'or G i* Fon-Leg Robert Sept. 21, 1948. R. L. MEADOWS 2,449,947

HEAVY DUTY TRAILER AND TRACTOR LIFTING UNIT Sept. 2l, 1948. R. L.MEADOWS HEAVY DUTY TRAILER AND TRACTOR LIFTING UNIT 3 Sheets-Sheet 3nverd'or Robefl' L. Meaclou/a.

G i'i'cu'negA Filed Jan.- 18, 1946 Patented Sept. 21, 1948 UNITED STATESAPMTf1-tir;OFFICE HEAVY DUTY TRAILER TRACTOR LIFTIN G UNIT Robert L.Meadows, Arlington, Va. Application January 1s, 1946, serial No. 641,905T 6 claims. (o1. 2121-486) 1 The present invention relates to a novelcombination vehicle of the tractor-trailer type and to al method ofoperating the same, whereby heavy loads may be expeditiously andineXpen-l sively transported.

l An important object of the invention is to providel a 'combinationvehicle for transporting heavy loads, wherein a minimum number of itemsof special equipment are required.

Another object of the invention is to provide a greatly improvedmachinery trailer having provision .for front end loading ofself-propelled machinesand other heavy equipment.

Another object of the invention resides in a method of transportingheavy objects, wherein the trailer may be loaded from its front end andlifted into transport position while in the loaded condition.

A further object of the invention resides in the provision of a liftingand towing vehicle or truck incorporating a power unit for raising thetrailer and a hitching member for securing the trailer in towingposition.

I A still further object of the invention is the provision'of liftingmeans adapted to be mounted upon the chassis frame of a standardlautomotive truck as a substantially self-contained unit. Still anotherobject resides in a novel hitching device in conjunction with a trailertongueand novel locking mechanism to secure the trailer to the truck ortractor.

A final object is to provide a novel trailer which can be. loaded withheavy machines o1' other equipment in the shortest possible time.

kOther and further objects and advantages of the presentA invention willbecome more readily apparent from a consideration of the followingspecification taken together with the accompanying drawings,illustrating a preferred embodiment thereof, wherein:

Figs. 1 and la are side elevation views of a combination vehicleembodying the invention, the trailer being particularly illustrated inFig, 1 with a load in position thereon and the tractor being shownlargely in Fig. 1a;

Figs. 2 and 2a are plan views of the vehicle shown in Figs. l and la,respectively, the load being removed from the trailer;

Fig, 3 is a perspective View of a power lifting and hitching unitforming a part of the invention;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the front end of the trailer;

view of the bitching device taken along the line 5-5 vof Fig. 2; and l 1v Fig. 6 is a detail perspective View of a lifting link used forhoisting and lowering the front end of the trailer.

Referring to Figs. land 2, there is illustrated a machinery trailerconstructed according to my invention. In addition to the usualsub-frame, it is shown as having a pair of longitudinally extendingbeamsIl), preferably Vor' channel shape in cross section. These beams areinterconnected at the forward end of the trailer by means of a frontchannel beam Il, to form a rigid supporting frame in which is secured anordinary load-supporting floor or platform I2. The rear ends of thebeams I0 are secured to the front of a bogie structure I3 which includestwo pairs of double, tandem wheels I4 of standard size mounted in asuitable suspension unit I5 for supportingthe rear end of the trailer,The top portion of the bogie structure I3 is elevated above'the topsofthe wheels I4 and has a floor I6 to form an auxiliary load-supportingplatform. It will be noted that the floor I6 is narrower than the floorI2, in order that the wheels I4 and suspensionunits I5 may be clear andaccessible at all times. A pair of conventional warning flags Il andtail lamps I8 are shown as being mounted at`the rear end of theauxiliary platform. The auxiliary platformA I6 and the main floor I2 areeach shown as being provided with pairs of angle guides I9 and 20,respectively, preferably made of structural angles, which are rmlysecured to the floors at the side edges to prevent sidewise slipping ofthe loads thereon. A plurality of conventional clearance lamps 2l aremounted along the sides ofthe outer floor beams.

For purposes of illustration, there is disclosed iny Fig. 1*, a typicalheavy load in position on the trailer. This load consists, in thepresent instance, of a large self-propelled power shovel 22l having anendless track 23. The shovel 22 is also provided with `the usual grabbucket or clam bucket 24 suspended from a boom 25 in the conventionalmanner. Although the specific details of the particularload, chosen forpurposes of illustration, form .no part of the present invention, it isdesired to point out the arrangement of the load on the trailer, whereinthe main load 22 is carriedby the main floor or platform I2 and aportion of the load 24 is carried by the auxiliary platform I6 on thebogie.

Referring to Figs. l, 2 and 4, the inner pair of supporting beams IDdiverge rearwardly or converge toward their forward ends to form a tow-`ing tongue 26 which extends forwardly of the cross-beam or rib Il and isinclined or bent upwardly at a slight angle so that it will rest flat onthe ground when the front end of the trailer is lowered to its loadingposition (see Figs. 1 and 4). The forward ends of the beams I 0 aresecured together by means of a plate 21 and the webs are provided withtwo pairs. of apertures,v the forward pair having a lifting bar 28secured therein with the ends projecting laterally beyond the beams andthe rearward pair being adapted to slidably receive a hitch bolt 29. Apair of transverse guide plates 30 are secured?A between the beams I0just behind the front plate 21 andare ared outwardly adjacent to theirtop edges. to form, with welded side plates 3l in the beams l0, aguiding socket adapted toy receive` a hitch pin or bar 32. The detailsof this socket assembly are best illustrated in Fig. 5.

It is to be particularly noted that reinforcing members R, of chassissteel plate, are rigidly secured, as by welding, to the beams Il) attheir pointsl of intersection with the cross-beam or rib I| Thesereinforcing membersv are particularly desirable at this point and, ineffect, make the tongue 26 a cantilever structure. The arrangement ofthese reinforcing members is suchy that a self -propelled machine, suchas the'power shovelI 22, having wheels or tracks on opposite sides ofthe center line thereof, may be driven, under its f own power, over thefront end of the trailer, straddling the reinforcing; box-beamstructure.

Referring to Fig. 3, there is illustra-tedI a preferred embodiment of apower lifting and loadsupporting unit which is adapted to be secured ;j,

in position on the chassis frame of an automotive truck. The unitcomprises a pair of longitudinally extending channels 33` securedtogether by means of transverse beams 34, 35 and 36 to form a generallyrectangular frame structure; A -5 plurality of stirrup bolts 31 areindicated as being in position for securing the frame to the chassisframe ofthe truck.

A pair of hydraulic cylinders 38' andv 3i!` are mounted in the forwardportion of the frame in any suitable manner', conveniently by means ofordinary brackets 46". is mounted on the frame adjacent to the frontends of the cylinders 38 and 39 and suitable hydraulic conduits 42 andpressure relief valves 43a and 43oJ one operating at' low pressure andthe other at highpressure, are providedy for contro-1"-v ling-the supplyand discharge of pressure fluid: to and from opposite endsof' thecylinders 38, and' 39. The ends of theV conduits 42-'are adapted to beconnected to a combinationy hydraulic pump and control valve P (Fig.2a)` ofl conventional' construction. Since the specific details of thelhydraulic operating system form no part of the present invention, theyhave not been described, it"

being sufficient that any well known pump and.

reversible control valve be employed in this connection. The hydrauliclifting mechanism, by employing high and low pressure relief valves tolimit the pressure supplied to the rear and front of the cylinders,respectively, acts-asian automatic safety device to prevent breakage ofthe lifting mechanism. Furthermore, the' use of two standard cylinderspromotes economy and' provides double security in the event of breakage.

The rear end portion of the power lifting unit is provided with atransverse rib. 44', andI rigidly secured between this rib and. the endbeam 3.4

are upper and lowerv platesA 45 and 46.A A. guide.

A make-up reed tank rt pipe, is rigidly secured in said plates 45-46, asby means of welding. The hitch pin 32 is rotatably mounted in the guideand is provided with a threaded upper end 48 and a flattened bottomportion 49 having an elongated aperture |50 therein. A lock nut 5| isthreaded onto the top portion 48 of the hitch pin and rests on a thrustwasher or bearing member 52 on top of the guide 41.

Also mounted adjacent to the rear portion of the unit is a pair ofgrooved pulleys or sheaves 53 and 54 rotatably mounted on a horizontalshaft 55 supported in sockets 56 and 51 secured to the webs of thechannels 33. Wire ropes or cables 58y and- 5'9 are secured to the endsof piston rods tion lifting and. towing unit mounted thereon..

The truck includes an ordinary load carrying body or bed 64., the usualmotor 65, and an operators cab 65. It is shown as having front and rearwheels B1 andl 68; although, it may be of the tractor type. A remotecontrol unit 69 is mounted in a convenient location in the drivers cab66 and contains control elements for a power takeoff from the engine ltothe pump P, as wellY as a switch or handle for actuating the controlvalve. The remainder of the truck proper will not be described in detailas it is not essential to a complete understanding of the presentinvention.

Fig; 6 illustrates a lifting link 63 in engagement.

with one end' of the lifting bar 2B. It will be noted that the liftingbar 28 is provided with a downwardly projecting key lug 10 suitablysecured thereto, as by means of welding, to prevent the' link from.slipping off the bar after it has been engaged therewith. A pair oflateral guide ears 1I are shown as being secured to the sidesof the link63 to prevent, the links from twisting on the bars and to insure thatthe links are properly engagedv with the lifting bar 28.

Assuming the tractor truck and trailer to be disconnected, the front endof. the trailer will be resting on the ground with the floor I2 slopingdownwardly and forwardly and with the tongue 28 extending substantiallyhorizontally along the ground. By the use of two pairs of ordinarywooden ramp blocks B, which may later be used to chockthe load inposition, the caterpillar shovel 22 may be driven onto the main floor orplatform l2 under its'own power. The position of the front end ofthetrailer, during this operation, is indicated. by dotted lines in Fig. 1.The tractor truck may then be moved into position so that the hitch pin32 is approximately centered over the socket formed by the curved guides30-3|. The control va'lve is now actuated to operate thehydraulicpistons and extend the piston rods Elle-6l, thus permitting the cables58-59 to be slacked off' over the sheaves 53--54, so that the liftinglinks 624-63 may be engaged with opposite ends of the lifting bar 261.The controls are then reversed, causing the hydraulic pistons to exerttension on the" cables to raise they front end of the trailer intotowing position with the hitch pin seated may then be released, ifdesired, to provide for free swiveling or fifth wheel action of thehitch pin 32 in the guide 41. The length of the tongue permits ampleturning freedom of the rear wheels of the towing truck.

Obviously, various other modifications, alterations and departures fromthe specific embodiment, herein disclosed, will occur to one skilled inthe art without departing from the spirit of the invention, as set forthin the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A heavy duty trail-er having a flat platform and pairs of tandemwheels at the rear end; 'a reinforced tongue composed of heavy conveyingbeams projecting from the front end and bent to lie at on the groundwhen the fron-t is lowered for loading; a guide socket in the front endof the tongue having hitching means for connecting the trailer to atowing truck; power lifting means on the truck for raising the trailerto its towing position; and :a hitch .pin shaped to be guided. into saidsocket and removably secured to said ton-gue.

2. A heavy duty trailer, as set forth in claim l, wherein a lifting 'barextends through the tongue; and the power means includes a pair oflifting cables having links adapted to be connected to said bar to raisethe tongue and guide the socket on the hitch pin.

3. A heavy duty trailer, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said hitch pinis swivelly mounted on the rear end of the truck chassis frame andextends downwardly therefrom; and wherein a pair of hoisting cables havemeans to connect them to opposite sides of the tongue to lift and guidethe socket onto the hitch pin.

4. A heavy duty trailer `of the class `described having a relativelynarrow, reinforced tongue at its front end ben-t to lle substantiallynat on the ground when the front end of the trailer is lowered toloading position with the trailer platform supported above the groundlevel; and ramp blocks of different thicknesses placed on opposite 6sides of the tongue to facilitate loading heavy, self-propelled machineson the trailer.

5. In combination with a heavy duty trailer of the flat platform typeadapted to be lowered to the ground at its fron-t end for loading andhaving tractor hitching means whereby it may be raised to its towingposition, a power unit adapted to utilize the power of a standardautomotive truck removably mounted on the chassis frame of the truck andhaving lifting means extending to the rear end of the lchassis. framecoacting with said hitching means t-o raise the front end of the loadedytrailer to its towing position.

6. A heavy duty trailer of the class described having a ilat loadingplatform; a relatively narrow, reinforced tongue projecting from itsfront end and bent to lie substantially liat on the ground when thefront end of the trailer is lowered to its l-oading position with theplatform suD- ported above the ground level; and a series of ramp-blocks of diifererrt thicknesses on each side of said tongue tofacilitate loading heavy, selfpropelled machines on the trailer.

ROBERT L. MEADOWS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,693,869 Ronk Dec. 4, 19282,305,148 Dempster Dec. 15, 1942 2,312,769 Mosling Mar. 2, 19432,316,760 Andersen et al Apr. 2U, 1943 2,325,869 Mosling Aug. 3, 19432,364,365 Hultquist Dec. 5, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date473,690 Germany Mar. 19, 1929 807,549 France Oct. 19, 1936

